Saugus’s Kowloon Goes Mobile With Food Truck

A decades-old restaurant along Route 1 in Saugus will grow its business soon with the addition of a mobile operation. Kowloon (948 Broadway, Saugus), a popular Polynesian-themed restaurant known for its throwback Tiki kitschiness, comedy nights, and giant menu, will soon roll out a food truck, which will be available for special events, including corporate functions, weddings, holiday parties, and more.

Kowloon counts itself among the iconic restaurants of Route 1, several of which have gone out of business in recent years. Yet Kowloon carries on, more than 60 years after founders Madeline and Bill Wong purchased the building. Over the years, Kowloon has done more than just serve food and cocktails in flashy containers: The restaurant serves as a comedy club, a site of cornhole tournaments, a bingo venue, and a function hall for all manner of celebrations.

Inside, the massive venue can accommodate more than 1,000 people. Its decor fully leans into a Tiki style, and that same spirit will go into Kowloon’s new food truck, which is mostly red, white, and black, decorated with the name Kowloon in its signature font above scattered foldable to-go boxes on the outside.

Kowloon co-owner Bob Wong tells Eater that the truck could hit the road next week, as long as the permitting process goes as planned. While the truck will initially be used for special events, the hope is to get it out in public early next year. The team also hopes to add a second truck to the mix as soon as possible.

Customers can expect to find the usual favorites on the menu — crab rangoon, fried rice, lo mein, General Gau chicken, fried ice cream, and more — as well as some dishes that Wong says will be “new to our customers and evolving to satisfy the tastes that the next generation of Kowloon customers may want, such as Chinese roast pork buns, cucumber Asian salad, cold sesame noodles, and Asian sandwich wraps.”

Chris Coe/Eater

“We had always wanted a food truck,” says Wong, “as long as 20 to 30 years ago, when we noticed a growing market for ‘canteen’ trucks that would park at lunch time in busy office parks. However, time flew by, and we naturally had our hands full running brick-and-mortar restaurants, so that idea was put on the back burner. As chance would have it, my nephew, Jonathan Moy, would end up starting — of all things — a food truck (he left his corporate job to pursue his dream.) Because of his success with his Moyzilla trucks, we collaborated with him to start up the Kowloon-branded truck, to help serve the North Shore, with hopefully more on the way.”

• Kowloon Launching a Food Truck [Patch]
• Kowloon Coverage on Eater [EBOS]